Cholesterol and Lipoprotein Dynamics in a Hibernating Mammal

Hibernating mammals cease feeding during the winter and rely primarily on stored lipids to fuel alternating periods of torpor and arousal. How hibernators manage large fluxes of lipids and sterols over the annual hibernation cycle is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate lipid and cholesterol transport and storage in ground squirrels studied in spring, summer, and several hibernation states. Cholesterol levels in total plasma, HDL and LDL particles were elevated in hibernators compared with spring or summer squirrels. Hibernation increased plasma apolipoprotein A-I expression and HDL particle size. Expression of cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase was 13-fold lower in hibernators than in active season squirrels. Plasma triglycerides were reduced by fasting in spring but not summer squirrels. In hibernators plasma β-hydroxybutyrate was elevated during torpor whereas triglycerides were low relative to normothermic states. We conclude that the switch to a lipid-based metabolism during winter, coupled with reduced capacity to excrete cholesterol creates a closed system in which efficient use of lipoproteins is essential for survival

Autonomous morphology and extramorphological coherence

International audienceAlthough the most familiar examples of autonomously morphological phenomena are entirely arbitrary, Aronoff’s original (1994) proposal predicts that autonomous morphology is not limited to such cases, but is active in all mappings between phonology and morphosyntax, from morphological phenomena considered entirely arbitrary, to morphological phenomena which are to some degree correlated with extramorphological features. In this study I discuss evidence from Romance verb morphology for the existence of such a continuum, and explore approaches to situating morphological phenomena along it, from the starting point of the ‘hierarchy of functional coherence’ (a ranking of morphomes according to the degree to which they correspond to extramorphological criteria) put forward by Smith (2013). I suggest that it is worthwhile to distinguish between the phonological, morphosyntactic and morphosemantic coherence of a given morphome, firstly because these are qualitatively different phenomena, and secondly because phonological correlates appear to make a greater contribution to diachronic resilience

Construindo Critérios de Julgamento em Avaliação: especialistas e satisfação dos usuários com a dispensação do tratamento do HIV/Aids Building Evaluation Criteria: experts and user satisfaction with pharmaceutical delivery services for HIV/Aids

Critério é uma ferramenta típica da avaliação e pode ser definido como uma dimensão-padrão em função da qual a realidade do objeto da avaliação receberá julgamento qualitativo e/ou quantitativo. Em uma avaliação, o procedimento de elaborar, esclarecer, negociar e aplicar critérios para determinar o valor (ou mérito) do objeto avaliado faz parte de um exercício metodológico que deve ser cuidadoso. Este artigo apresenta critérios de julgamento para avaliar a satisfação dos usuários com a dispensação dos medicamentos para o tratamento do HIV/Aids e seu processo de construção por meio de consenso entre diferentes atores sociais. Para estabelecer o consenso utilizou-se técnica de Delfos, uma técnica formal utilizada para consenso de especialistas com metodologia e processos estruturados. Neste estudo, foram considerados especialistas aqueles com experiência acadêmica e em gestão, bem como ativistas informados e comprometidos com a questão. Os achados foram sistematizados sob a forma de uma nova estrutura de satisfação, sob a qual os critérios construídos são articulados hierarquicamente. Buscou-se contribuir para o desenvolvimento de uma estratégia metodológica participativa em avaliação e ampliar o conhecimento sobre a satisfação dos usuários e a dispensação dos medicamentos para HIV/Aids.<br>A criterion is a typical tool in the evaluation field that can be defined as a standard-dimension under which the object of an evaluation receives qualitative or quantitative judgments. During an evaluation, several rigorous methodological procedures are involved in development and application of suitable criteria to determine the value of the object being evaluated. This article presents a set of criteria to evaluate user satisfaction with HIV/Aids-related pharmaceutical delivery services. The criteria construction process involved consensus amongst different experts, from academia, NGOs, management, by means of the Delphi technique. This technique prescribes a series of formal steps towards a consensus of experts, based on pre-structured methodology and processes. The findings were systematically organized in a structure under which the resulting satisfaction criteria are hierarchically organized. Results suggest the importance of developing a methodological strategy in evaluation that involves participation of different actors and of enhancing knowledge on user satisfaction and pharmaceutical delivery services for HIV/Aids